Sunday, March 4, 2018

LUCIANO DE CASTRO WINS THE PBR BADBOY MOWDOWN IN LITTLE ROCK

Luciano De Castro (Guzolandia, Brazil) won his first-ever PBR (Professional Bull Riders) event with a victory at the 25th PBR: Unleash The Beast, Bad Boy Mowdown at Verizon Arena in front of a record crowd in North Little Rock, Arkansas.

De Castro was the only rider to go 3-for-3 as he rode Shattered Dreams (Kevin Foreman Bucking Bulls) for 84.25 points in Round 2 and then covered Big Dutch (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) in the championship round for a massive 91.75 points. For the victory, he earned 545 world points and $37,002.86.

With the win, he jumped one spot in the world standings, rising from No. 3 to No. 2 and now trails No. 1 Ramon de Lima (São Paulo, Brazil) by 90 points.

A pair of fellow Brazilians, Emilio Resende (Santa Helena Do Goias, Brazil) and Eduardo Aparecido (Gouvelandia, Brazil) finished in second and third place, respectively.

Resende bucked off Wired Child (01 Cattle Co.) during Round 2 but earned 84.5 points when he went 8 seconds on Cut The Cord (Broken Arrow Bucking Bulls) in the championship round. He earned $19,702.86 and 360 points towards the PBR world standings.

Aparecido conquered Pick-It Construction’s Find Jesus (Ogden Ranch/Hart Cattle Co.) in the opening round of the night but unfortunately, hit the dirt early in the championship round. It’s the best finish for Aparecido this season as he earned 230 world points and $11,200.

Resende catapulted from 36th to 17th in the PBR World Standings and Aparecido moved from 17th to 10th.

Despite not being able to compete at all on Saturday due to suffering a knee injury in Round 1, Derek Kolbaba (Walla Walla, Washington) finished in fourth place, earning 165 points and $9,032.86.

Reigning World Champion Jess Lockwood (Volborg, Montana) finished in fifth place earning 159 points towards the world standings along with a paycheck of $5,602.86.

Lockwood rode Missouri Boat Ride (McConnell’s Bucking Cattle) in Round 2 and then confidently chose YETI World Champion Bull SweetPro’s Bruiser (D&H Cattle Co.) during the championship round but it was the bovine World Champion that won the matchup, dispatching Lockwood in 4.89 seconds.

The YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Event was Bruiser who earned a bull score of 46.5 points. It’s the second time this year that Bruiser has been named the Bull of the Event.

The top bull riders in the world stay in the South with a trip to Duluth, Georgia next on the calendar. The Duluth Invitational will take place, March 10-11 at Infinite Energy Arena.

Winners of each RVT event in 2018 will be guaranteed at least one opportunity to compete at a regular-season PBR 25th: Unleash The Beast event. Thanks to his victory in Hampton, Burtenshaw earned an invitation to the First Premier Bank Premier Bankcard Invitational in Sioux Falls, S.D. on April 6-8.